Dishwashers typically have a door which can be opened to provide access to the dishwashing chamber, and upper and lower racks to hold dishes, bowls, glasses, cups, and other objects to be washed. One of the racks is normally designed to hold dinner plates, serving platters, and other tall objects, while the other rack has limited vertical space or clearance such that dinner plates and the like will not fit. More contemporary dishwashers include a pull-out upper drawer which is shallow so as to have limited vertical space for dinner plates and the like. However, it is sometimes desirable to be able to place taller objects, such as dinner plates, in the shallower rack or drawer for washing.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved dishwasher rack adapted to hold tall objects having a height greater than the vertical clearance above the rack.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a dishwasher rack having foldable tines to allow objects such as dinner plates to be tilted or leaned so as to fit within the dishwasher chamber for washing.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a dishwasher rack having first and second rows of adjustable tines, with each row being independently foldable with respect to the other row.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved dishwasher rack having two sets of tines, with the lower ends of the tines being fixed relative to one another and the upper ends of the tines being spaced progressively farther apart from one another as one or both of the sets are folded from an upright position to the lowered position, such that a dinner plate supported by the tines will be tilted progressively farther from a vertical plane as the tines are folded outwardly toward the lowered position.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved dishwasher rack having adjustable tines, which is economical to manufacture and durable in use.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.